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Jun 12, 2011

Warning: help Libya not OTAN! OTAN using tweets to locate and target “enemy combatants”

Editor’sNote:
I have left the following comment on the HRI post:
“I agree that people must use discretion when engaging social media platforms for any purpose but are you suggesting that genuine resistance to the aggressive occupation of a sovereign nation is to be discouraged?

The only Libyans who would disclose the position of government militias or armed civilians, would be OTAN informants. Given the extremity of the barbarity demonstrated by the “imported, U.S. funded, al qaeda rebels”, it would not be beneath them to inform on unarmed refugees fleeing places like Misurata, in order to manufacture consent for OTAN strikes.

Whether Libyans are in the militias defending against OTAN or are civilians the fact is that NATO’s position is illegitimate.

You must understand that resolution 1970 (please see clause 6) and 1973 are in themselves a violation and mockery of International law.

OTAN was never concerned about protecting civilians. If that were the case why would a “no fly zone” require unrelenting bombardments and the openly stated intention to assassinate Gadaffi and his family?

Who orcestrate Social Media?

Indeed, if OTAN intended to protect civilians, why are they using depleted uranium munitions?

Genocide is what OTAN is commiting and anything the Libyan people must do in their own defense is, under International law, both legal and acceptable.

A) These activities run the risk of blurring the distinction between combatants and the civilian population which can endanger the general civilian population.

B) Regarding 1) – it isn’t stated whether these Libyans are combatants (integrated in the militia) or civilian, but its worth noting that civilians who engage directly in combat – which would include providing targeting information – would run a risk of being placed in the unfortunate category of “unlawful combatants” and facing criminal liability for their actions. Just to note, even if they were placed in this category, they should still be treated humanely but they might not be granted POW status.

C) States using civilians in violation of the law of war will be in breach of their responsibility under that law.

In a conflict ostensibly aimed at protecting civilians, which will doubtless inform the way future conflicts are conducted, consideration needs to be given to these issues.

Twitter and Facebook are among a wide range of media and other sources OTAN’s intelligence officers monitor around-the-clock to identify potential targets in the air war against Kadhafi’s troops, the officials said.

“We will take information from every source we can,” said British Wing Commander Mike Bracken, the Libya operation’s military spokesman. “We get information from open sources on the Internet, we get Twitter.”

A OTAN official said Libyans have been tweeting from the rebel-held city of Misrata, Ajdabiya and Tripoli, providing information ranging from movements of troops and tank columns to shellings of towns and fleeing refugees.

“Twitter is a great source,” the official said on condition of anonymity.

The official stressed that any information gleaned from the website is checked against other more reliable sources such as satellite imagery and other traditional intelligence gathering before any jets are deployed.

“On their own they don’t represent a reliable source but they do help to draw attention to emerging issues or threats that can be checked out with more sophisticated means,” the official added.

The United Nations mandate that authorised that OTAN mission in Libya forbids the presence of ground troops, forcing the alliance to rely on other sources of information.